Items about books I want to read, #42

I realize as I start writing this that it has been a while since I blogged here. I have been pretty active over at The Itinerant Librarian doing book reviews. Feel free to hop on over and check those out. One of the things I may do in the future is do a round up of the monthly book reviews I do over there here. That way the reviews can get a bit more exposure, and my followers here can see them. Plus it would give me a bit of a sense of what I have read recently. In the meantime, let’s have a look at a few more things I want to read. As always, book links go to WorldCat, so you can find them in a library near you, unless otherwise noted.

I really dislike the preppy people who espouse “positive thinking” and think the workplace should just all be fun and games. I don’t mean keeping a positive attitude; I mean the whole cult of ‘positive thinking.” Also, don’t get me wrong. I do like fun in the workplace as long as it is a natural thing. Once the bosses try to impose it from above (for whatever reason), it becomes a problem. Maybe this book discussed in Big Think will help. The book is The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking.

And speaking of humor and happiness, I am sure you can be happier if you poop well. Here is a little scatological humor on the Kama Sutra. The book is Kama Pootra, and it was highlighted at Incredible Things.

Good Vibes’ blog had a review of Best Bondage Erotica 2012 a while back. I am running a bit behind on reading this series, or ahead depending on how you look at it since at the moment I am reading Best Bondage Erotica 2014 (review coming soon to The Itinerant Librarian). Cleis Press always puts out some great erotica anthologies, and their Best Bondage Erotica series is a good one. If I get my hands on the 2012 one, I will review it as well.

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) highlights on their site the graphic novel The Silence of our Friends. This book is “a semi-autobiographical story told from the perspective of Mark Long, as a boy. It centers around civil rights incidents covered by his father, a television reporter in Houston, Texas, in 1968, following the Texas Southern University student boycott after the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was banned from campus. It ends with Dr. King’s assassination and the mourning of the larger Houston community as they marched in his memory that following Sunday.”

Via Mother Jones, highlight of a new book on “data and much more about black American life from education to the entertainment industry to the justice system.” This is the kind of data and facts you want to share with every racist, bigot, and right wing asshat you know. Need to debunk some racist nonsense? Here is your ammunition. The book is Black Stats by Monique Morris.

Via Mental Floss, here is a list of “15 Strange and Awesome Cookbooks.” From this list, I actually have a copy of 50 Shades of Chicken, which is both a cookbook and a parody of that other erotica book. I won it in an online contest. As soon as I get to it, I will review it.

Via Nerve.com, a list of “the 15 erotic books you absolutely have to read.” I am sure there are others you could read in lieu of some on the list, but the still is still a pretty good start for those who may want to try out some erotica.